another girl's paradise
by ulstergirl
Summary: Ned takes Nancy on what he hopes will be a romantic vacation—but, almost immediately, they run into her old friend Frank Hardy.


**This story includes some adult language, consumption of alcoholic beverages (by people of appropriate age), and unmarried couples sharing hotel rooms. If anything listed offends you, please don't read. Otherwise, enjoy. (This was written for a birthday fanfic request.)**

* * *

Everything was perfect, almost impossibly so. The weather was just right: sunny and warm, with enough breeze to make it pleasant. The scenery? Breathtaking. Their room? Plush and inviting, with a gorgeous view of crystal-blue sea and white sand beaches just begging for a stroll, and a balcony that would be perfect for romantic meals from room service.

Everything was perfect, but Ned was alone.

He wasn't even totally sure how it had happened, and he was almost afraid to let himself think about it for too long. He had seen a suspiciously familiar dark-haired man talking to the resort manager, and then that man had turned, and Ned had recognized him as Frank Hardy. Within seconds, it seemed, Nancy had been fully engrossed in their conversation. Now she was with Frank, and Ned was sitting in the dining room with his half-finished omelet and still-warm coffee, wondering what the hell he had done wrong, what cosmic power he had pissed off to have _this_ happen. During the trip he had planned on... well, he had planned on a lot of things. He had chosen the destination, the resort, all of it with such care. He felt sick, to see it undone so quickly, so thoroughly; it felt like the numbness before the pain registered.

_Two, three hours. Tops. I promise._ He could still feel the kiss she had pressed against his cheek, the earnest expression in her beautiful blue eyes.

The awful part was, she was telling the truth, and Ned knew it was a lie. Oh, not an intentional one. She fully believed what she had said. Two or three hours would turn into half a day, then the full day, then some clue she would just need to track down the next morning. Their trip was only five days long. He would be lucky to spend twenty-four hours of it with her.

"Hey. This seat taken?"

Ned glanced up with an automatic polite smile, responding to the warmth and humor in the feminine voice behind the question, and saw a tall woman maybe a year younger than Nancy, with smiling eyes and honey-blonde hair. She wore a long patterned wrap skirt knotted at her waist, over her tank swimsuit.

"Callie?"

She nodded with a smile as she took the offered chair, the one Nancy had vacated. "Good, I'm glad I wasn't totally wrong. I thought I might find you down here. Ned, right?"

He nodded. "How'd you know...?"

She gave him a wry smile. "It wasn't all that hard, when I saw Frank leaving the resort with Nancy," she commented. "I didn't think she'd be here alone."

All around them, Ned had to admit, were couples; the resort offered couples packages, couples spa appointments and massages, couples activities. It was part of why he had chosen the place. He had even reserved one of those couples massage treatments, but when the clerk had offered to leave it open-ended with twenty-four hours' warning, Ned had agreed to that. Even when he had been planning their trip, he thought glumly, he had known something like this might happen.

"I didn't think _I'd_ be here alone," Ned said, and was surprised at the bitterness in his voice.

Callie gave him a sympathetic glance. "Well, since there's no telling when they'll be back, mind if I eat breakfast with you?"

By the time she returned to the table with a cup of coffee and her own omelet, Ned had made up his mind to just talk about positive things. He didn't want to spend his time being frustrated and upset, and maybe Nancy had been right, maybe it really would only take a few hours... but he didn't believe that.

"So I saw they offer parasailing down at the beach," Callie commented as she sat down. "It looks like it's probably really fun, but kind of scary. Maybe." She smiled.

"A few of my frat brothers did that when they went down to Cancun over spring break. The pictures were cool."

Part of it was that Callie was obviously lonely, and looking for a distraction. Part of it was Ned's empathy, and his own loneliness. After breakfast, which they lingered over for far too long, he asked if she had taken a walk on the beach yet, and she hadn't. It was only gallant to offer. Ned went back up to the room to change, and left Nancy a note in case she actually did, by some miracle, make it back to the room before his return.

Although all Ned knew about Callie could have been summed up in a simple phrase—she was Frank Hardy's girlfriend—Ned figured out early on that he genuinely liked her. She had a keen sense of humor and could come up with a dryly witty comeback in a second, delivering it with a deadpan expression but betrayingly twinkling eyes. She asked two or three times if she was keeping him from doing something else or bothering him, and once he assured her that she wasn't, she relaxed and didn't ask again. And she didn't bring up what was on either of their minds. He only caught her checking her phone a couple of times, just as Ned was, hoping against hope to see a message telling him that the mystery was solved and the rest of their vacation was free again.

Their walk on the beach together became lunch, and then she dared him to sign up for parasailing. Ned's initial impulse was to politely refuse, because it seemed like an activity Nancy would probably enjoy and one he wanted to share with her, but Callie pointed out that it would be good experience.

Even though he was having fun, a part of him still felt distant. He liked Callie, and in a way, the younger woman did remind him of Nancy, a little. She was similarly athletic and even-tempered, and she had a bit of a daredevil streak. He understood what Frank saw in her.

He couldn't help wishing that Hardy would lose Nancy's number, though. He trusted Nancy, but he didn't trust Frank.

Ned was hoping that Nancy would be back for dinner, so he went back to their room to wait, leaving Callie to do the same. He didn't want to spend an entire day of his planned vacation with Nancy, with another woman. Not even if she was out solving a mystery.

Nancy returned to their room at eight o'clock that night, scratches on her elbows and knees, her hair mussed. "Oh," she sighed, wearily stepping out of her shoes. "Ned, honey, I'm sorry. I didn't expect it to take so long."

Ned put down the book he had been slowly reading and re-reading while he waited, unable to stop worrying about her. "Are you all right?" he asked, standing up. "You were hurt."

She waved him off. "I'm okay. I just need to get a few hours' rest."

"Are you hungry?"

She shook her head, walking the two steps to the bed and collapsing onto it with a sigh. "Frank and I grabbed sandwiches," she muttered.

"Oh."

"It was so late... I thought you'd already eaten." She looked up at him with her eyes wide. "Oh no. Ned, I'm sorry."

"It's all right. I'll just... I'll go get something." He sighed. "So everything's settled?"

She winced, and Ned tamped down his immediate frustrated response. "We're going to go on a stakeout at midnight," she said, her voice small. "And if we're lucky..."

Ned took a deep breath and counted to five before he responded. "And if you're lucky that'll be all."

"Yeah." She smothered a large yawn with her hand, then rested her head on the pillow again. "I'm sorry, honey," she said again, but her voice was already weak and soft.

Ned managed to find a hole in the wall serving pizzas and subs to groups of sand-dusted drunken tourists and a few locals, and ordered a meatball sub and chips as soon as he reached the counter. He was sure Nancy was asleep, and he didn't want to be away from her, but she wasn't even going to know he was there, or not.

_Some romantic vacation,_ he thought, trying to keep his mood from darkening further but finding it impossible. _It'll be half of tomorrow too._

He took his dinner back to the room to eat it, and Nancy slept soundly, still wearing the sundress she had been wearing at breakfast when they had seen Frank Hardy. She looked so sweet, though, and Ned couldn't stay mad at her. He found one of the extra undershirts he had packed just for her and gently pulled her sundress off, dressed her in his undershirt, and moved her under the covers. She made a soft contented sound, and Ned prepared for bed too, clicking on the light on his side of the bed and pulling his book out again.

He had fallen asleep too, his mouth like cotton, when he heard Nancy's cell phone alarm going off, and realized she was cuddled against his side. She yawned hugely, fumbling at the nightstand, then sat up and rubbed at her eyes.

"It's so late," Ned said, his words thick and slow with exhaustion. "Do you have to go?"

"Yeah," she said with a yawn, and then she smiled at him, small and apologetic. "I'm sorry I woke you, honey."

He yawned too. "I could go with you," he offered.

She shook her head, then leaned over to kiss his cheek. "You need your rest," she said. "I'll come back as fast as I can."

"Mmm." Ned sighed. "Nan?"

"Hmm?"

"Dinner tomorrow? Will that be okay?"

"Oh, I'm sure we'll be done by then," she said. "I'd love to have dinner with you tomorrow."

"M'kay." His lashes fluttered down. "Six?"

"Mmm-hmm." She kissed his cheek again, then moved out of the bed.

Once she had left, Ned read for a while, but he was still exhausted from the long day and all the traveling, and he fell asleep again. He didn't quite wake when she returned, but he registered it on some level; he remembered feeling her in his arms. When he woke, though, he saw a note on her pillow; her side of the bed was vacant.

_Shouldn't take long. I'll see you around lunch, I hope! Love you. x_

Around lunch. Ned knew he would be lucky if she actually made it to dinner.

To head off his bad mood, once he was dressed and ready to go down to breakfast, Ned found the room Callie and Frank were sharing and knocked at the door. Callie answered wearing a bathrobe, and while she was smiling as soon as she answered the door, Ned could tell it was a little strained.

"I seem to find myself alone for breakfast again this morning," he told her. "I was about to head down."

"I'll be down in five minutes," she told him, and her smile became genuine and grateful.

Ned left a note in the room telling Nancy that he would be in the hotel or at the hotel's beach, since she had been known to misplace her cell phone or let its battery drain entirely. Then he went downstairs and poured himself a cup of coffee, just before Callie came into the hotel's restaurant.

Ned didn't feel like he'd had nearly enough sleep, and Callie looked tired too. "Good morning," she told him, brushing a strand of blonde hair that had escaped her ponytail out of her face. "Thanks for the company."

He lifted his cup of coffee. "Thanks for yours," he said. "I'm just glad you were here."

Her eyes widened a little, but she nodded. "Me too."

After breakfast they went down to the beach and he offered to rent an oversized umbrella, and she insisted on splitting the cost with him. They spread out their beach towels and she applied an extra layer of sunscreen with vigorous efficient strokes, taking her hair down and raking it back into another ponytail.

Even though he had really only spoken to Callie the day before, he felt the same fondness for her that he did for Nancy's friends Bess and George. They _understood_ when no one else did, when his fraternity brothers and other friends were surprised that Ned would "put up" with the string of broken dates, missed reservations, and minor injuries that a relationship with Nancy meant. Ned, and Bess and George, loved Nancy and understood that was part of being with her. Callie loved Frank, despite the same behavior.

And Ned found himself frustrated on Callie's behalf, even though he knew that if he said she deserved better behavior from her boyfriend, she could easily turn that back on him—and he would immediately feel defensive and angry on Nancy's behalf. Callie had been with Frank long enough that she knew his detective work wasn't just a phase or a short-lived fascination. It just made him upset to see her so clearly lonely and frustrated, maybe because, he realized, he tried not to let himself feel that way.

Once he had taken enough time to let his breakfast settle, he told Callie he was going for a swim, and she nodded, retrieving a paperback book from her beach bag. They had both been lost in their own thoughts for a while, but he hoped that at least his presence was helping her a little. He strode into the water, past the other couples who were sunbathing or playing around in the water; down the beach, at another resort, he saw families, toddlers building sandcastles, children laughing as they buried their parents in sand and then running away, shrieking and giggling, when the parents rose and staggered after them like reanimated stiff-legged monsters.

As soon as he could, he ducked beneath the water and began to swim with powerful strokes, depending on the exertion to help distract him from the turmoil he was feeling. He was careful not to swim too far out, or so vigorously that he would be stranded far from the beach; he was careful not to get caught in the riptide, either. The sun was higher once he pulled himself back to shore, but it wasn't quite lunchtime yet—and he didn't see Nancy on the beach waiting for him, shading her eyes with her hand as she searched for him.

Callie had put her book down, and she was just lowering her water bottle from her lips as he approached. "Good swim?"

"Yeah."

She paused. "Expecting Nancy back for lunch?"

He was drying himself off, and he covered his face with the towel so she couldn't see his smirk. "She said she hoped so."

"So, no."

"So, no," he agreed, and sat down on his towel again.

Callie sighed. "Why do I always think we can have a nice, relaxing, romantic vacation," she murmured, her gaze out on the water. "Every time. And every time..."

"Yeah," Ned sighed, and didn't trust himself to say anything else.

They waited until one o'clock to eat lunch, and Ned knew Callie was still holding out hope that Frank would show up, just as he was hoping Nancy would. Their table was big enough to accommodate them. But Callie finished her orange-glazed chicken salad and Ned finished his steak sandwich, and they were still alone.

Callie smiled at him once they were finished. "I think I'm going to walk into town and do a little sightseeing," she said. "I don't want to, without him..."

"But who knows how long the case is going to take," Ned said, when she didn't. "I'll go too. That way if you run into anything, at least you won't be alone."

She smiled again. "I don't mean to be imposing on your vacation..."

He shrugged. "Don't worry about it," he told her. "Nan said she should be back for dinner, definitely, so I'd better make a reservation."

"Well, in that case... I could make a reservation for Frank and me, too."

"Sure," Ned said easily, and they didn't say it, what they both were thinking.

Housekeeping had tidied their room, but the note Ned had left was untouched. He changed and left another note for Nancy, saying that he had made the reservations for dinner, and headed down to meet Callie in the lobby.

They caught one of the cheap local buses packed with natives and college-age tourists, heading for the shopping district. Once they were off the bus, he stayed near Callie, but he didn't walk with her; she walked slowly, taking a lot of pictures with her digital camera, and when he saw her duck into a large open-air marketplace, he circled back and walked in too. He saw a small framed print by a local artist that he thought his mother might like, and a coffee mug to add to his father's collection. He saw a dozen things he would have bought for Nancy, if she had been nearby to ask her opinion: books on the history of piracy near the island, delicate figurines and handmade jewelry, a silk scarf printed in shades of blue and purple, an oversized purse that would let her carry her detective equipment with her. He decided that he would bring her back the next day, or whenever he was able, to take her shopping.

"Hey, Ned?" Callie asked, when they were on the way back, sitting together on the bus. "Mind taking a picture with me?"

"Sure," he said, and she extended her arm, snapping a shot of them sitting on the bus together. Then she turned the camera around and smiled as she checked it.

"Thanks. You know, you're a pretty neat guy," she told him, and bumped her shoulder against his.

"And you're not bad, for a girl," he teased her, and she smiled. "So, if we get back and... they aren't... we could get a drink," he suggested.

She nodded, scooping her loose hair up and then releasing it as she sighed. "Yeah. That sounds good. I've been dying for a mai tai since we got here." Then she bit her lip and glanced over at him. "And, no offense... but I really hope they're back when we get back."

"No offense, but me too," he said, and she smiled. "I think I could even be okay with the idea of the four of us having dinner sometime... not tonight, though."

She nodded. "I know exactly what you mean. I just want some time together alone, y'know?"

"Yeah," Ned sighed. He'd known that feeling for what felt like ten years.

Even so, he wasn't surprised when their hotel room was exactly the same way he had left it, the note untouched, and his phone still silent. When Nancy was working on a case, she had a tendency to focus on that alone, to the exclusion of almost everything else—he had seen her come back after a day spent investigating famished and exhausted because she had skipped a meal or two. Maybe Hardy had enough presence of mind to make sure they stopped for lunch, but Ned doubted it.

He picked up his phone and typed up a message. _Love you. Missed you at lunch. Hope to see you soon._

Then he sighed and deleted it. He didn't want to distract her, or sound needy or petulant. She knew where he was, and sending her a message wasn't going to bring her back any faster; it might put her in more danger, if her phone made a sound at the wrong time. He shook his head and picked out his outfit, then took a shower.

At five-fifty, Nancy still hadn't arrived, and Ned was practically anxious enough to start pacing. He left the same note about the reservations, to remind her just in case she came back and had forgotten, and headed to the elevator.

The car he was on stopped at the next floor, and Callie was waiting, wearing a cream-colored dress that fell to her knees, with gold sandals and a gold belt. She had dressed up for Frank, just as Ned had dressed up for his dinner with Nancy, and each was disappointed at the sight of the other, and too tired to keep up the brave face.

"So, Miss Shaw," Ned said as she boarded the car. "I would be happy to buy you a mai tai."

She smiled at him. "And I'd be happy to accept," she said, as the elevator car descended.

Ned told the hostess at the restaurant that he would be waiting for his dinner companion in the bar, and then he and Callie sat down at a vacant table. He ordered her mai tai and a scotch and water for himself, and the alcohol burned when he tossed it back.

Callie was halfway through her drink when she propped her chin on her hand and looked over at Ned. Her eyes were shining. "How do you do it?" she asked.

"Do what?"

"How do you not let it get to you?" She sniffled.

Ned shook his head. "It gets to me every time," he told her. "And no matter how many times, it never gets easier."

* * *

Seven-fifteen. Nancy slotted her keycard into the door, half-expecting to find Ned there, his arms crossed and his expression stormy; instead, the room was dark. She flipped on the light and saw a note beside the bed, telling her that Ned had made their dinner reservations.

"Shit. _Shit_," she hissed, hurriedly stripping out of her clothes. Her stomach was growling, and she felt a little faint with hunger, but she was also covered in sweat and sunscreen. There was no way she was going to have a nice dinner with Ned feeling slimy and gross. She took a shower as fast as she could manage it, drying her hair while chanting under her breath for the dryer to just _work faster already_.

Nancy had packed three dresses, and after she changed into a bra and panty set in shimmering nude lace, she put on the most comfortable one, the blue dress Ned had always loved on her. She didn't have the time or the patience to put on full makeup, so she put on some semi-sheer foundation, a quick few sweeps of highlighter on her eyelids and cheeks, mascara and lipstick, stepped into a pair of strappy slides, and rushed out with her clutch purse. As soon as the door closed behind her, she realized she had left her dead cell phone in her shoulder bag, but shrugged as she rushed for the stairs.

She was sure that Ned was mad; she was just surprised that he hadn't been waiting for her in the room.

She gave the hostess at the restaurant what she hoped was her most dazzling smile as she approached. "Hi, I'm really sorry, but I'm running late. My boyfriend made a reservation for six o'clock. Ned Nickerson?"

The hostess looked around, shaking her head slowly, and Nancy's heart sank—and then she wondered if something had happened to Ned, to keep him from making his way to the restaurant. "Oh! He must still be in the bar. He said he'd be there waiting."

Nancy's eyebrows went up a little. "Thanks," she said. "So where's the bar?"

The hostess directed her there, and as soon as Nancy walked in, she began to glance around. She saw a couple of guys sitting alone at the bar itself, on the stools, but neither of them was Ned. But she knew him, and she knew he would probably be near a television... and she glanced around, trying to find a table with a good sightline.

What she saw broke her heart a little. Ned was seated at a two-person table, one overlooking a great view of the beach. And he wasn't alone. A blonde in a white dress was sitting with him, a fruity drink in front of her, and two already-discarded paper umbrellas from previous drinks on the table too. So he was here drinking and he had picked up another girl.

"You did?" the girl was saying, when Nancy came close enough to overhear them, but not so close that they would spot her.

Ned nodded. "I mean, I love her. I always have, no matter what. And I guess it would have been strange if I had planned a romantic vacation and _not_ had it interrupted by a mystery. I just wish that I'd been the one to help her, you know?" He sighed. "That wouldn't have been so bad. At least we would have been together. And now... I just wish I knew she was safe." He reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone, then put it away. Looking for a message from her, a message Nancy had never sent—and, honestly, hadn't even thought about sending. Her stomach flipped a little.

The girl tucked her hair behind her ear, and Nancy realized she was Callie. Her brow cleared. "I know exactly what you mean," she sighed. "And you really think it's always gonna be like this?"

Ned shrugged. "She is who she is. If I wanted to change her, it would just hurt us both." He shook his head. "It's just sometimes I feel like I rearrange my life for her, and she doesn't notice, and it doesn't really _mean_ that much to her. I don't know if she would ever do that for me." He made a gesture. "Or I guess I do know, huh."

"Yeah." Callie sniffled. "It hurts to know I'd do anything for him, but it's as though he'd never even ask me to—like it would never occur to him that I'd love to help him out more on his cases. He just says he's afraid of my getting hurt. But doesn't he understand that I'm even _more_ afraid of that, for him? That wanting to be a part of his life doesn't mean I only want to be there _for_ a part of it?" She shook her head.

"I just love her so much," Ned said, at the same time Callie said, "I just wish he was here with me," and then they smiled at each other, but the smiles were sad.

Just then, Nancy felt a hand brush the small of her back. "I wasn't expecting to see you here," she heard Frank say, and she reflexively took a step back when she felt his breath at her ear. "Waiting for a table?"

She shook her head, then nodded at the table where Ned and Callie were sitting. "We should join our dates," she said.

"You have reservations too? Apparently Callie made some, but I'm incredibly late for them. Maybe we could get a table together?" Frank smiled.

Nancy smiled too, but she shook her head. "I think they're already feeling pretty neglected," she told him. "But it—it was nice to be working with you again, Frank. I'll catch up with you again before we leave, all right?"

"Okay," he agreed.

Nancy approached the table with Frank a few steps behind, and Ned glanced up at her—and she knew he was drunk, could see it on his face, but he stood and wrapped his arms around her, and she closed her eyes, swallowing the sudden lump of tears in her throat. She had hurt him, but he wasn't hurting her in return, and the feel of his arms around her was like comfort and _home_. "Hey baby," he murmured against the crown of her head. "I'm so glad you're here."

She tipped her head and kissed his cheek. "Honey, I'm so, so sorry I'm late," she told him. "Let me make it up to you."

"If we're lucky they'll still have a table for us," he said, and she felt him stiffen when he looked up. "Hardy."

"Ned," Frank replied with a nod. Callie had stood up, too. "I'm sorry, Cal. I didn't know we were having dinner at a set time. Shall we?"

Nancy noticed that Ned relaxed when they were seated—and she realized that they weren't sitting anywhere near Frank and Callie. But she didn't know what to say. Ned didn't know what she had overheard, and she didn't want to make him feel self-conscious about it. "So maybe I should start with a martini, so we'll be close to even?"

"Sounds good, Nan. And definitely an appetizer. Those peanuts at the bar are long gone."

"Well, I'm glad—" She swallowed. "That you didn't have to wait for me alone. Callie's a sweet girl."

Ned nodded. "She really is. I like her a lot."

"You two must have had an interesting conversation," Nancy said, trying to keep her tone light.

"Oh, yeah," Ned said, and smiled. "We spent a lot of time together over the past few days..."

Nancy's heart sank. She had known that Ned would be jealous of the time she spent with Frank, so she had worked on the case as hard as she could, trying to solve it as fast as possible. She hadn't even considered that Callie and Ned would be left alone together at a romantic resort, surrounded by picturesque beaches and plenty of intimate one-on-one activities. She trusted him, and though she didn't know Callie all that well, she thought the other girl was sweet and devoted to Frank—but Callie and Ned had spent a lot of time together, and they'd been drinking together, sharing their frustrations.

And from what she had heard, although it had hurt, what he had said rang true. Ned really did go out of his way to help her and rearrange his life for her, and she often just assumed he knew she was grateful; she just didn't _say_ it that often. She made sure that every year on his birthday, she spent some quality one-on-one time with him—although a time or two, that time together had needed to be a few days before or after.

Sometimes he did complain, but those times were rare.

But one day, he might start asking himself why he was devoted to such a thankless task, such an ungrateful girlfriend. She hadn't taken Ned up on his offer to accompany her to the stakeout because she didn't want to interrupt his sleep, _and_ because she had known that having Ned and Frank on a stakeout with her was a bad idea.

_But there's something wrong with that,_ she thought. She and Ned had a big plush bed all to themselves, no one around to overhear or tease them about being together. She knew that Ned's idea of their vacation had been breakfast in bed, romantic strolls along the beach, candlelit dinners and sweet whispered nothings. So far, they had managed none of that. Even their dinner wasn't candlelit.

He did so, so much for her.

She had just reached for his hand when the server brought her ordered martini. "Thanks," she said, and the moment was broken.

"Do you two need some more time to decide?"

"Fried oysters to start?" Ned suggested, but before she even had the time to wrinkle her nose, he added, "—and fried mushrooms too?"

She nodded. "That sounds good."

"And I'll have... the chili and lime braised pork tacos," Ned said. "Could we get some tortilla chips too?"

Nancy chuckled. Ned's appetite was bottomless when he _wasn't_ drinking, and even more voracious when he was. "I'd like chicken enchiladas, with rice and guacamole salad. And the chorizo queso dip with the chips? And... once I finish this, maybe a mango margarita?"

Ned laughed when the server took their menus. "I think you're as hungry as I am."

"Well, I did skip lunch."

Ned shook his head. "I hate when you do that," he said, and this time she did reach for his hand and squeeze it. "So tell me about the case. Distract me from my growling stomach."

"It was..." She shuffled through a dozen possible adjectives, then sighed. "It was long and a lot of it was boring and when we caught the guy responsible—just about two hours ago, actually—he wasn't some criminal mastermind. He was just this lonely, hurt guy who thought stealing these precious artifacts that he could never tell anyone about would somehow earn him the respect of his bosses and make him a total babe magnet, basically. It was sad. He just wanted so desperately for someone to be in awe of him."

"Hmm," Ned said. "So it wasn't as great as you hoped it would be."

Nancy shrugged. "I don't know. We did what we wanted to do, and caught him. It's exciting when the person we're chasing... well, no, it's not. I guess it just makes more sense to me when the person we're looking for has a good motive. When they're smart, it makes them harder to catch, _and_ more dangerous." She sighed and stroked her fingertips against his palm. "And I'm glad it's over. So, tell me what you've been doing over the past few days."

She had no grounds to be jealous or sad when she heard that Ned and Callie had been parasailing, that they had gone down to the beach, eaten practically all their meals together, had even gone shopping in the village. Nancy's head knew that. But her heart ached. When he said Callie was "actually a really sweet girl," Nancy wanted to find her and slap her. Ned was _her_ boyfriend. _Hers._ And Callie had been there when Nancy wasn't.

_But what did you want him to do, sit in the room and mope and watch TV?_ she asked herself. Nancy had made the choice for him when she had decided to investigate with Frank and leave Ned behind. And Callie definitely didn't come with the kind of baggage and frustration a relationship with Nancy gave him.

His recounting was interrupted by the arrival of their appetizers, and even though Nancy had been famished, her stomach felt solid with anxiety and sorrow. She obliged when he encouraged her to try the cheese dip, pronouncing it incredible and praising her choice; she touched a mushroom and discovered it was too hot to eat quite yet.

_Doesn't he understand that I want to be a part of his life? _Callie had said, and she glanced down at her plate as she remembered it. Ned often _did_ help her on cases, but eighty or ninety percent of the time, Ned was reorganizing _his_ life to suit hers, not the other way around. He had paid for most of the trip out of his own money and had looked forward to spending time with her, and he had spent a lot of his trip so far with someone else. She had been expecting an argument. She wondered if he was too tired to even put up that much of a fight.

_I don't want to change her._

Instead, he had changed _for_ her, without asking, even without that much complaint. He would never ask _her_ to change. But she had been told over and over that love, good, positive, true love, meant becoming better people _together_.

"I'm sorry. Here I am, eating most of the cheese dip," Ned said, pushing the bowl toward her. "Penny for your thoughts."

She shook her head with a small smile. "They aren't worth the penny," she told him. "I'm just exhausted from the long day, and looking forward to spending time with you."

He smiled, and she berated herself. Why couldn't she just say what she was thinking? She had panicked. And she feared that drawing his attention to that basic inequality in their relationship might make him realize that being with someone else, someone like Callie, might be easier.

She knew that Ned disliked her relationship with Frank for much the same reason. He didn't feel exciting enough for her; he thought Frank was. He wasn't constantly itching for a new case to investigate or a mystery to solve, like Frank was. Nancy could go somewhere new and find something unusual to investigate in less than an hour, but for Ned, that excitement and thrill was limited to _her_. Her mysteries, their time together, and even, a few times, because he had wanted to show _her_ that he could be an investigator too. It wasn't his passion. But she had seen, time and time again, that she was his passion.

"Speaking of spending time together. Mind if I make a reservation somewhere nice for our last night here? Maybe somewhere a little more exotic. Not that this place isn't good."

"That sounds great," she told him with a smile, then smiled when the server delivered her mango margarita.

During their meal Nancy was feeling warmly buzzed, although her mood was veering wildly from panic and bleak despair to fragile hope. Ned seemed happily buzzed, and happy to plan events with her. He wanted to go parasailing with her, even though he had been with Callie. He suggested a scuba diving trip, maybe a guided tour of the island, maybe even waterskiing. She agreed to all of it. She wanted to fit all the fun they could possibly have into the last few days of their vacation.

By the time they were in the elevator, Nancy had decided to put her nervousness over Callie and the past few days out of her mind. She was with Ned. The police could handle anything else that came up during their vacation, because she had no intention of leaving Ned's side for the rest of it.

He slid an arm around her waist, and she looked up at him with a wide, soft smile. "Hey," she said.

"Hey," he replied, reaching up and stroking her cheek. "You look really beautiful."

"And you're a sight for sore eyes," she told him. "I've missed you. And I'm so, so sorry we've been apart these last few days. It's not going to happen again."

His lips twisted up in a wry half-smile and he glanced away without responding. He didn't believe her. Her heart sank.

Well, maybe he didn't believe her, but she would be happy to prove him wrong.

In their room she went to the bathroom to brush her teeth and freshen up, then let Ned have his turn. While she was alone she took off her dress and put on a silky black nightgown, then sat down in the office chair to wait for him.

Ned still looked buzzed and happy, but he was down to his underwear, and when she stood his gaze took in her outfit and her expression. "I thought... you said you were exhausted," he said slowly.

"Not _that_ exhausted," she said, coming toward him.

* * *

For the rest of their vacation, Ned was delighted to find that Nancy was true to her word. They spent their days and nights together, exploring the island, hitting all the tourist spots, swimming and playing in the water, scuba diving and taking canoe trips, shopping and dancing and having fun together. Then he took her back to their hotel room and made love to her, while they washed away the sweat and sunscreen and grime of the day in the shower, when they woke together in the middle of the night, while they waited for room service to deliver their breakfast order.

Even the dinner with Callie and Frank wasn't so bad. Callie was glowing and happy, clearly delighted to have Frank to herself again, and Frank stayed on moderately good behavior.

After their meal, Frank went to get the rental car and the girls went to the restroom. Ned waited on the curb in front of the restaurant, and he was mildly surprised when Callie was the first one out.

"So I just wanted to say thanks," she told him, with a small smile. "I really appreciate that you hung out with me. It kept me from going out of my mind."

"Same to you," Ned told her with an easy smile. "And I consider you my friend, now, so if Hardy tries to pull anything, you just let me know."

Callie chuckled. While Ned had a small teasing glint in his eye, he wasn't really joking. "And if Nancy ever forgets what a great guy she has, just call me," she said, patting his arm. "I'll talk some sense into her."

"About what?" Nancy asked brightly as she joined them. She came over to Ned's other side and slipped her hand into his, then stood on her tiptoes to brush a kiss against Ned's cheek.

"Those times you seem to forget what the word 'vacation' means," Ned said, but his tone was light. She gave him a little apologetic smile, though.

"Don't worry, you're in good company," Callie told Nancy. "And next time you two happen to be in Bayport, we should catch up."

"Definitely," Nancy replied, but Ned noticed that her hand stayed joined to his when they were in the backseat of Frank's rental car. As soon as the elevator car stopped at their floor and they told Frank and Callie goodnight, Nancy's arm was snaked around Ned's waist, her thumb hooked in the waistband of his pants.

"Someone's a little impatient," Ned teased her, but he saw the anxiety behind her eyes when she glanced up at him. "Nan, you okay?"

She sighed. "Yeah," she said, even when he frowned at her. "I am. I'm okay. I just... I guess the thought of you with Callie made me jealous. And yes," she rushed to add, "I know I have no space to talk, and that I spent time with Frank... but... but I guess..."

He pulled the keycard out of his pocket and swiped it through the reader, then opened their hotel room's door for her. "But?"

Nancy sighed, stepping out of her heels and reaching under her arm to unzip the side of her dress. "But I guess I can imagine that it would be easier for you to be with someone like Callie," she said, her voice almost indistinct, her eyes cast down. "Someone who isn't running off to solve a mystery every fifteen minutes."

Ned hooked his index finger under her chin and brought her head up so she was looking into his eyes. "Hey," he said softly. "Nan, when you were away and I was spending time with Callie? We spent every second wishing that you two were with us. She was lonely and so was I. And nothing happened, if that's what you're afraid of. I don't care if things might be 'easier' with someone else, because _you_ wouldn't be the someone else. And that's what she and I talked about. That was it."

Nancy cursed herself when she felt her eyes begin to gleam with unshed tears. "I heard you talking to her, and... oh, Ned... I'm sorry. I'm sorry that you're the one who's always giving and I'm the one who's always taking. I never wanted that. I hate that you don't have very much choice, that whenever there's compromise between us, you're the one who generally has to make it."

Ned shrugged a little. "If it's the price to be with you, then I'm willing to pay it," he said softly.

"But you _shouldn't_ be; you shouldn't have to." She made a frustrated sound, slipping out of her dress, and sat on the bed in her underwear. "It's not a good basis for a relationship."

"And what is?" he asked, sitting down beside her. "If not love?"

"Compatibility," she said, and wiped away an escaped tear. "Wanting the same things out of life. Being able to see a future together." She glanced down at her hand, when Ned touched it. "Do you?"

"Do you?" He turned the question back on her, lacing his fingers through hers.

She smiled a little and sniffled. "I asked first," she said, but when he didn't reply, she held up their joined hands. "When I imagine our future, I imagine that I'll come home from a case one day and find a note waiting for me, that you've put up with the last missed reservation, the last missed meeting, the last postponed date. That you think I don't value you or what you need or what you want. But that's not true." She sniffled again. "I worked so hard on that case so I could spend the rest of our vacation together. I missed you so much when we were apart. And maybe... maybe the answer is that if we're together, even if we're working on a case..." She trailed off and looked up into his eyes.

"I would rather be with you, working on a case, than away from you," he told her, and lifted their joined hands to his lips so he could brush a kiss against her knuckles. "I'd rather be able to protect you and keep you safe, if I can. That's always been true. And maybe the answer is that we should find some way to do that, in our careers. Not all the time, but a lot of the time."

"So once I finish my licensure..."

"I could be your Guy Friday," he said with a smile. "The strong, silent type with an impressive glower and ready fists."

She smiled back. "You'd be willing to do that?"

He shrugged. "You like to run headlong into danger," he told her. "I'm more comfortable making sure we have backup first. You'd hop into some criminal's trunk without a second thought; I'd be the one following a few cars behind to make sure you didn't get in over your head. Most of the time, I think we balance out pretty well."

"And then I work with Frank and forget to eat for twelve hours."

"Exactly," Ned said with a solemn nod. "I'd at least make sure you had a bag of peanuts."

She couldn't help grinning. "Is that really how you picture it?"

"If you do." He swallowed hard; she saw his adam's apple bob. "Nan, I love you more than anyone or anything else in this world, and that will never change. And if we were able to work out some arrangement like that—not all the time, but sometimes—then you'd never come home to some note saying that I'd had it, that something was the final straw. And I'm sorry that I can't just—that I can't just draw a line and say that your cases are on one side of it, and I'm on the other, that I don't want to be involved. Maybe that's what you want..."

She shook her head. "No. That's not what I want."

"Well." He rested their joined hands on his knee. "I can only tell you how I _want_ to see us. I want to see us as partners, in pretty much every way. When we're at home together, when we're working. Not together all the time, but..." He glanced down, then up into her eyes. "I promise you that I'd lay down my life to save yours, and I know that there are very few people who would ever protect you the way I would."

She reached up and cupped his cheek, tears pricking in her eyes again. "And I'd never forgive myself if it came to that," she told him. "You know that, don't you?"

"And I'd never forgive _myself_ if I knew that you were seriously injured and I could have done something to prevent it."

She sniffled, giving him a small humorless smile. "So we're damned if we do, and damned if we don't," she said. "If we were apart, it would never be a question—but I'd be miserable without you. And if we're together, we'll be worried about each other."

"Oh, Nan. Even if we were apart, I'd worry about you. I did when you were working with Frank. When I didn't hear from you..."

"I'm sorry," she whispered, and then she stood up on her knees, her face level with his. "I never mean to hurt you, but I do anyway."

He cupped her cheeks. "I'd rather be hurt by you than loved by someone else."

She shook her head, blinking a pair of tears down her cheeks. "Ned..."

He leaned forward and kissed her. "I don't mean it like that," he said. "I mean that maybe we go through rough patches sometimes, but the good times more than make up for it. Maybe I could have a perfect relationship with someone else—no disagreements, no fights, no misunderstandings. But I wouldn't have the passion or the love that I have with you.

"Don't beat yourself up about who you are, Nan. Your heart is good, and you do what you do to help people. It would be different, otherwise."

She gave him a small smile. "Well, you know what?" she said softly. "I think I've found a new case, one that's very important to me—helping my boyfriend. I want to make a bigger place for you in my life, one that you never fear getting kicked out of, where I can show you that you're really important to me, too, and how much I want to be with you.

"I know that... before, when you asked me to marry you... that it wasn't a real proposal, but the answer I gave you was real."

He brushed his thumb against her lips. "It was real," he said. "It was just too early. And I plan on doing it right, the next time."

"You do?" She searched his eyes.

"Yeah."

"Well..." She glanced at his lips, then back up. "I wasn't ready, before. But the proposal you gave me, that night, all of it—it was beautiful, and perfect. I don't know how a girl proposes to her boyfriend. But... to be your wife, to share my life with you, to have you around to help me and support me? If we could find a way to be together that didn't make you miserable, that wouldn't tear us apart?"

"I'm only miserable when I imagine a life without you," he told her, searching her eyes. "So... do you mean..."

"That I want to marry you?" She smiled and nodded. "Yeah."

He took a deep breath. "Dammit, Nan..."

"That's... not what I was expecting," she said slowly.

He shook his head, then rose and went to the top drawer of the dresser. When he returned to her, he had a black velvet ring box in his hand.

"Oh," she whispered.

"Yeah," he murmured. "So I thought, tomorrow..."

Nancy put her hand over her mouth, her eyes wide. "Ned, I'm so sorry," she said, her voice muffled.

He shook his head. "Well, you know how the first time... it was real, but it wasn't?" She nodded, her mouth still covered. "I wasn't too nervous, because I knew what your answer would be, and I... I guess I didn't have my hopes up. But now? I was so nervous, and I wanted everything to be perfect, and..."

She finally put her hand down. "And I ruined it," she whispered.

He shook his head again, and gave her a smile. "No, honey. You didn't. Now we can go tomorrow and have a nice, romantic meal by candlelight, and I won't spend the entire time rehearsing a speech in my head and imagining all the ways it might go wrong. If you want..." He opened the box, gently pulled the ring out of the slot, and presented it to her. "If you want, Nancy, you will make me the happiest man in this world if you take me as your husband. I will do everything I can to support you, to show you how much I cherish you, to protect you."

She accepted the ring, then looked from it to Ned and back again.

"This was why I planned this trip," he told her gently. "Because I wanted to take you somewhere romantic and beautiful, somewhere we could go to be alone."

"Are you disappointed?"

He shrugged. "That's not the right word," he said with a smile. "What I've learned is that nothing is a hundred percent predictable with you, and that's all right. Because most of the time, it's better."

She gave him a smile and slid the ring onto her finger. It fit perfectly. "I meant what I said," she murmured. "I don't want things to be like they have been, not entirely. I want us to find a way to be together that isn't going to leave you with the short end of the stick all the time."

"Then we will," he said, and took her hands in his, and kissed her fingertips. "Nan, I love you. I love you so, so much."

She leaned forward, sliding her arms around his neck, and touched her forehead to his. "And I love you," she whispered. "You are a handsome, wonderful, intelligent man, and more patient than I deserve."

Ned tilted his head and kissed her gently. "Can I make one small request?" he said softly. "I mean, if we're talking about compromising...?"

"Sure."

He stroked the small of her back as he gazed into her eyes. "What we were talking about, with me working with you... can we definitely do that if Frank ever wants to work with you again?"

Nancy raised an eyebrow, but Ned shook his head. "Nan, I trust you, okay? That's not what this is about. I just..."

"You're just jealous," she said softly, and smiled.

"Yeah. I guess."

She kissed him again. "Well. You have nothing to worry about... but I think we can work something out."

"Good," he murmured, and she giggled when he took her in his arms and bore her to the bed. "I love you so much... and I can't believe this is real."

"It is," she whispered, and ran her fingers through his hair, gazing up at him. Then she grinned. "It's real, it's actually true."

"That we'll be married."

She nodded. "That we won't have to say goodbye to each other anymore."

He tilted his head and kissed her gently. "And you'll be mine."

"I always have been," she told him softly. "It's just now, everyone will know." She grinned again, just before he kissed her. "How long will we wait?"

He smiled. "As long or as little as you want," he said. "Next week, next summer, anywhere between. Tomorrow, if the sunset's beautiful enough."

"Oh?"

"Although no matter how beautiful it is," he kissed the tip of her nose, "it will pale in comparison to you."

"You already have me. You don't have to butter me up anymore," she said, her tone light.

"It's not flattery when it's the truth."

"Then I'll just tell you that we've waited so long... that I want to have the most beautiful, perfect wedding we can. You've been so patient, and I want to give you everything you've ever wanted."

"You already have," he told her with a smile. "When you agreed to be my wife."


End file.
